Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on stress and Access to Services for Licensed and Kinship Caregivers and Youth in Foster Care

Abstract

Children in foster care in the United States face unique challenges related to access to health and education services. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those services were temporarily disrupted, adding burden to an already strained system. This observational study describes the experiences of licensed and kinship caregivers (N = 186) during the peak of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and as restrictions to services were lifted, to understand the overall impact of COVID-19 on this already vulnerable population. Purposive sampling methods were used, where caregivers known to have received placement of children prior to, during, and following COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were identified and recruited to complete a 45-minute phone-administered survey assessing stress, risks for contracting COVID-19, strain resulting from COVID-19, and access to services for children in foster care in their care across five domains: healthcare, mental health, education, child welfare, and family visitation. Differences by caregiver type (licensed, kinship) and timing in the pandemic were examined. Licensed and kinship caregivers reported similar social and economic impacts of COVID-19, including similar rates of distress for themselves and the youth placed with them. Almost half of caregivers experienced challenges accessing mental health services, with access to services more disrupted during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Caregiver reports regarding the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 were similar across the study, suggesting that lessened restrictions have not alleviated strain for this population.

Influence of Kinship Caregiver and Family Characteristics on Kinship Care Experiences

“…Garcia et al (2015) found that kinship caregivers were more depressed compared with their foster care counterparts. However, kin children experienced significantly lower internalizing problems with caregivers within the “never depressed category.” Similar to populations at large that have seen increasing demand and limited availability for mental health care in recent years, Beal et al (2022) reported that about half of caregivers in this study experienced barriers to accessing mental health services during the pandemic.…”

“…Similar to other parenting populations, resilience to these negative outcomes is also occurring, especially when caregivers have structural supports (Huang et al, 2019). In addition to the varying mental and physical health challenges faced by kin caregivers, barriers to mental health resources remain prevalent for this population (Beal et al, 2022; Garcia et al, 2015). Higher incomes were found to be positively correlated with improved caregiver well-being (Gomez, 2021).…”

“…Kin caregivers' resources were also affected by societal stressors such as COVID-19. Non-relative foster and kinship caregivers stated comparable levels of distress for themselves and kin youth including societal and financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic (Beal et al, 2022). Job loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic was felt by kinship families as they had higher financial needs and spent more time with kin children-during the lockdown-leading to higher levels of parental stress and mental distress (Xu, Wu, et al, 2022).…”

Foster Caregiving and Child Outcomes in relative and non-relative Foster families

“…Two of the articles in this issue dealt with macro-level or policy issues. Beal (2022) examined the impact of COVID-19 on stress and access to services, comparing licensed foster parents and kinship caregivers. As Beal and colleagues pointed out, much of the literature comparing licensed foster parents and kinship caregivers has highlighted the differences between these two groups in terms of economic resources, social support, and eligibility for assistance programs.…”

A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring the Educational Experiences of Foster Youth and Foster Parents During COVID-19

“…For example, Lipien et al ( 2022 ) interviewed caseworkers in child welfare services to examine their perspectives on educational experiences among youth in foster care during COVID-19 and discovered that youth in foster care had some difficulties with engaging in learning due to a lack of in-person tutoring and resources (e.g., online learning tools) as well as distractions. Similarly, another recent study of educational challenges facing youth in foster care revealed that most of the youth in foster care did not complete four or more hours of education per day (Beal et al, 2022 ), and foster parents had issues making adjustments for online learning (Whitt-Woosley et al, 2022 ).…”